The HBO series' third episode of the new season led all of cable for the night, delivering 6.1 million viewers over two airings on Sunday, with 5 million tuning in at 9 p.m. and another 1.1 million at 11 p.m.

That marks an increase over the prior week’s July 4th holiday weekend episode, which experienced a steep drop with 2.9 million viewers compared to the season premiere’s 5.42 million total viewers.

This news probably doesn’t come as a surprise for the network, which offered Episode 2 as early as a week before its Sunday airing on several platforms, including its new streaming video service HBO Go and On Demand. And while some media sites and fans viewed the steep ratings decline as a marker that the network’s marketing promotion had failed, HBO’s Corporate Affairs SVP Jeff Cussonexplained that the network didn’t view the drop negatively. “The numbers were not a surprise at all,” he told us.

“You know I think it's important to note [that] True Blood came back with its highest premiere ever,” Cusson told The Hollywood Reporter of its confidence in the show’s fans. “[The Company] anticipates the series will be doing great throughout the run.”